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--Chapter Nine--

--Quartermaine Mansion--

Lulu was seriously contemplating pinching herself right about now. Dillon hadn't gone off on some long-winded rant, Tracy had shut up, and Luke- though he looked ready to kill Dillon- hadn't sent her upstairs and locked her in a room, never to be let out again. Edward was cooing over Laurie, who was still resting peacefully in her mother's arms. They had all taken seats around the room, with Dillon sitting beside Lulu, and Luke on her other side. Tracy was in her favorite chair a few feet away- the way she held herself when sitting in that chair always reminded Lulu of a queen holding court.

"May I hold the little dear?" Edward questioned, his voice gentle so as not to disturb or frighten the infant.

Lulu grinned her patented Spencer grin at the memory of how that "little dear" could scream loudly enough to wake the dead when she so desired. "I'm sure she'd love that, Edward, but I think Laurie's daddy should get to hold her first, don't you?" she asked. The Quartermaine patriarch gave a nearly imperceptible nod and she looked over at Dillon, a nervous smile playing over her lips. She still couldn't believe that, even after everything they'd gone through and how mad she knew he must have been when he'd seen that she'd had their baby and kept Laurie a secret, he'd still declared his love for her- not just to her, but in front of Edward and Tracy and Luke.

Dillon smiled reassuringly- he could tell that Lulu was scared that she was going to wake up and somehow this would all be a dream or something like that. It was written all over her face- which, he reasoned, was probably one of the reasons he hadn't screamed at her for keeping their daughter a secret from him. He saw the fear in her eyes- fear that he'd want nothing to do with her and the baby, fear that he'd try to take Lauren away from her, fear that he'd hate her- it was all there. And it broke his heart to see that fear there, clouding her eyes- and the second she'd mentioned bed-rest, it was like nothing else mattered. Not her walking away, not the fact that she hadn't called, or that everyone who loved her had worried about her constantly for months. All he'd been able to think at that moment was that things could have gone really bad- something could have happened to Lulu, something could have happened to their daughter. He could have lost both of them and Lulu would have never known that he loved her.

He carefully reached for his daughter, taking her into his arms for the first time. She was so perfect, he thought. She had his eyes- hazel, and he was sure they'd change from green to brown to blue with her moods. If she was anything like her mother, her moods would change with the wind, he was sure. She looked like Lulu, though, facially. Her hair- the small patch that was there- wasn't really blond, as he'd originally noted, but more a strawberry blond, and he figured her hair would probably eventually turn red, a characteristic she'd no doubt inherited from Tracy.

He counted her fingers, pleased to find all ten little digits in place. He would have counted her toes, too, but she had on these tiny little lavender socks with butterflies embroidered around the top, and a pair of white baby shoes that would fit in the palm of his hand. Lulu had dressed her in a miniature velour outfit- lavender pants and jacket that matched the socks and a white bodysuit with purple butterflies along the neck. He wanted to memorize everything about that moment, he thought, as a fist tightened around his heart. "Hi there, Lauren Delilah Spencer-Quartermaine," he said, adding Quartermaine to the name Lulu had used earlier- he knew that she hadn't done it herself out of fright, not because she was trying to deny him that right- and saw Lulu's smile change from one laced with nervousness to the all-out Lulu-smirk he'd fallen in love with out of the corner of his eye. "I'm your daddy," he whispered softly to the little girl staring at him so intently.

Tears slid noiselessly from Lulu's eyes as she watched Dillon and Laurie. She was sorry now that she had ever left, that she hadn't followed through any of the billion or so times she'd picked up the phone and just called Dillon and told him, but she knew wishing she could change it wouldn't make that happen- she'd left, she hadn't called, and now she was back- with Laurie. She would have to live with that- the fact that Dillon had missed everything she'd been through with her pregnancy, and the birth of his daughter, and the first month of Laurie's life. There was still so much ahead of them- so many things that he would be there for, and she'd just have to focus on those things, instead- and so would everyone else.

Distantly, Lulu heard the phone ring- she wasn't sure that Dillon did, he was so wrapped up in Laurie, which made Lulu smile. Laurie, it was clear, already had her daddy wrapped around her little finger. She didn't really think anything of the caller, though, assuming that it was someone for Edward or Tracy- or even Luke, maybe Dillon- so she was, to say the least, surprised, when Alice came in and announced, "Miss Lulu, your cousin is on the phone for you."

Her cousin? Carly, of course, was the first thing that entered her mind- but why would Carly be calling? How could Carly even know that she was back? Maybe someone at the airport had recognized her and called Carly, she rationalized.

Dillon saw Lulu's confusion and, looking up from Laurie- who now had her little hand wrapped around one of his fingers- said in the same soft tone he'd used with her earlier, "Carly's been calling everyday, asking if we've heard from you- or anything about you. She's been worried," he added, feeling no need to add that the rest of them had been, too, because he knew that Lulu could see the unspoken words in his eyes.

She was shocked by his statement- she and Carly had gotten close, sure, but she hadn't expected that she would call on a daily basis to see if she'd shown back up. She accepted the cordless phone from Alice and calmly greeted her cousin- a woman Lulu thought had been more like a big sister to her than a cousin. "Hello, Carly."

"Oh, my God! Lulu! You're home! When did you get home? Where have you been? Are you okay? Why did you leave like that? You could have come to me if you needed-" Carly, who was standing at the concierge's desk at the hotel she and Jax owned, rapidly questioned her cousin, intending to ask all of the hundred or so questions that had entered her mind the instant she'd heard Lulu's voice on the other end of the line.

"Carly, slow down- I can only answer one question at a time," Lulu replied with a slight chuckle. "Now, let's see… Yes, I'm home- that much is obvious since you called the Quartermaines' and Alice handed me the phone. I got into Port Charles about two hours ago and to the mansion a little less than an hour ago. I've been in England- and yes, I am fine. I left because I was scared and confused, and I know I could have gone to you, but I needed to be alone," she answered the questions in the order in which they had been put to her.

"You've been home almost an hour and no one told you that I've been worried sick? No one told you to call me? Why didn't they tell you? Damn Luke, anyway," Carly muttered.

Lulu wasn't the least bit surprised that her cousin had automatically blamed Luke for not giving her the information, but she quickly interrupted, trying to set the record straight. "It wasn't Dad's fault- I caught them by surprise," she defended to Carly, "and not just by showing up so unexpectedly- see, I didn't even call them until I was already on my way here from the airport. And, then I showed up, and they all flipped- I had some serious explaining to do, as I'm sure you can guess."

Carly took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, glad that Lulu- whom she had determined some time ago was just a younger version of herself, a thought which managed to make Carly so proud and yet, at the same time, frightened her beyond words- was safe and back in Port Charles. "Alright, yes, I'm sure you had some serious explaining to do- I can forgive the fact that my worry was put on the back-burner- just this once," she added, feeling her heart-rate return to normal once again.

"I'm sure my dad will appreciate that," Lulu joked, thankful that Carly seemed to be calming down. "Although, I think he's still in a state of shock."

Carly gave a wry laugh at the understatement- her little cousin seemed to have a knack for that. "I'm sure- his daughter just returned after an eight-month absence!"

There was a brief silence on the other end, and Carly could practically picture Lulu biting her lip- a nervous habit the teen had. "Well, that and the fact that I didn't show up alone," Lulu told Carly, nervous about her cousin's reaction- she valued Carly's opinion and wanted Carly to be happy for her.

"You didn't show up alone? What does that mean?" Carly asked, thinking that Lulu had brought back a guy or something- she could just imagine Luke's reaction to that. Not to mention Dillon's- the poor boy had been heartbroken when Lulu had disappeared, though it had taken him some time to figure out why, exactly. She was ripped away from her musings when Lulu spoke again, this time her words were spoken a little more slowly, as though she really wanted them to sink in.

"I didn't have the abortion, Carly." The words surprised Carly to the point where she had to grip the edge of the counter so she wouldn't fall to the ground in a less-than-graceless heap.

When she finally found her voice again, Carly declared, "You sure are racking up the surprises today, aren't you, Lulu? How did Luke and Dillon take it?"

Lulu laughed as she pictured Luke and Dillon hitting the floor after she'd introduced Dillon to his daughter. "Well, I managed to introduce Dillon to his daughter before Dad and Dillon fainted." The comment earned her glares from both the men.

Carly, too, laughed happily as the image fluttered through her mind. "Daughter, hm?"

"Yup- Lauren Delilah Spencer-Quartermaine," Lulu said, noting the look of pleasure and pride that crossed Dillon's features at the name. "Laurie for short," she added.

"Aw, how cute! When do I get to meet her? I bet-" Carly literally bit her tongue as she watched a petite brunette make her way up to the desk, a smile that could only be described as malicious pasted on the woman's face. Carly, forgetting that Lulu was on the other end of the line, felt the anger coursing through her veins as she glared at her nemesis. "What the hell are you doing here, Brenda?" she growled.